A recent report Busbar Market indicates that the market size will rise from $12,321.9 million to $16,038.6 million by 2020.
This is largely due to rise in energy demands, the growing construction sector and increased upgrading of electrical infrastructures. Growth in related areas such as switchgear transformers is also contributing to the growth of the busbar market.
Less than a week after the good news that Carlisle station is to get a £14.7m upgrade the rail network in the north, and particularly Carlisle has suffered at the hands of Storm Desmond. Stations have no power and long stretches of track are under water causing travel chaos.
Whilst Network Rail are promising to get things back up and running as soon as humanly possible, the safety of rail passengers has to be at the forefront of everything being done. So whilst in an ideal world commuters would love to back to normal as soon as possible, there is much more to getting back to normal than just the water receding. Network Rail’s crews of maintenance people (known as the Orange Army) are clearing fallen trees and landslip debris where they can (read more here), but it’s not just what’s fallen onto the tracks that is the issue.
In the majority of instances a busbar is a better choice for conduction needs however the uptake of busbars as standard parts has been somewhat slower than one might imagine when looking at all the benefits they bring. The benefits over cabling in most instances are quite well documented.
Busbars made of copper are commonplace in the world of electrical power distribution. Switchgear, panel boards and busways all use busbars to convey substantial amounts of electricity, allowing more flexibility for circuits to branch off.
Copper is more resistant to rust and corrosion and so is commonly used in the production of busbars and other electrical equipment.
However, copper does oxidise over time and because of this the resistance in the conductive metal will increase, meaning that more power is needed to carry any current along its surface. Beyond a certain point, the metal can begin to flake and fall apart. It is for this reason that many metals are plated – it helps them retain their positive qualities and attributes.
Within the world of electrical power distribution, Busbars are commonplace. But what is a Busbar and what does it do?
The main purpose of a Busbar is to conduct a substantial current of electricity. Typically, they are contained inside switchgear, panel boards or busway.
Rather than branching the main supply at one location, a Busbar allows new circuits to branch off anywhere along the route of the busway.
Here at PRV Engineering we not only take great pride in the quality of our Busbars, but we understand your requirements. PRV Engineering delivers when other companies can’t.
The rail industry has been a constant topic of conversation over the past 12 months. From HS2 to the 10-year life extension of the current rolling stock and from Bombardier’s £1billion contract to the terrible damage caused by the recent inclement weather; trains and tracks have rarely been out of the news.
The early weeks of the New Year were dominated by the desperate news from the south west of England, in particular, where many sections of track were either submerged or damaged beyond repair.
With the storms having given way to a spell of brighter weather and rebuilding work ongoing, the attention now has turned to other matters, like HS2. This week HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins claimed that building work on the northern section of the £50bn high-speed project, should be accelerated.
PRV Engineering’s significant investment in a new plating facility in 2013 has led to a firmer control over prices and lead times.
One of the fastest growing high precision engineering machining specialists in Europe, PRV have been trading for over 27 years. Managing director Simon Jones believes the company’s new plating facility will have a vital part to play in the future of its Busbar business.
He said; ”Our order book continues to grow and the stabilisation of our Busbar business, via the investment in our new plating facility, helps to convince our loyal clients that we are here for the long term.
“Because we are in the high voltage power industry and a lot of our products are Busbars, they either require tin-plating or silver plating for added conductivity. In the industry we find it increasingly difficult to get the service done in an adequate time and at an adequate price.
Even though copper is the most popular choice for use in busbars, and used very often in other electrical applications because it is more resistant to rust and corrosion than other metals, this doesn’t mean that it won’t oxidize over time.
When metals oxidize, the resistance in the conductive metal will increase, requiring more power to be used to carry current along the surface. When the copper oxidizes beyond a certain point, the metal can begin to flake and fall apart.
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